If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times: first impressions are important. For musical artists and bands, these impressions only take a few seconds of a song to form and, in more stubborn cases, solidify into a permanent opinion. Needless to say, the right debut single can make or break a band when they’re vying for a spot on the charts.
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After doing a deep dive into the debut rock ‘n’ roll singles from the 1960s and 70s (I know, I know, someone has to do it), here are six tracks that I believe nailed it immediately. From the music itself to the characteristics it naturally imbued into the band’s image, these bands told you exactly who they were, what they were about, and what you could expect moving forward in a matter of minutes.
“Break On Through (To the Other Side)” by the Doors
In my humble opinion, few debut singles have ever so accurately painted a picture of a band’s style, ethos, and influence in under two-and-a-half minutes quite like “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” by The Doors. The debut single off their eponymous first release is psychedelic, a little wild, and full of impressive instrumental musicality, and even the title itself is evocative of the band name. It’s a real grand slam debut.
“Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd shared three things about themselves with their debut single from (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), “Gimme Three Steps”. One, they’re great at ripping the blues with a fuzzy, Southern rock edge. Two, they can write a good storytelling song. And three, they’re not going to take themselves too seriously. Considering their other single from this album was “Free Bird”, I’d say “Gimme Three Steps” helped set the bar for the band without setting it too high.
“More Than A Feeling” by Boston
Boston’s eponymous debut from 1976 is just a great debut album, period. The first four tracks on the album remain some of their most beloved to this day, and that’s certainly true of the album’s lead single, “More Than A Feeling”. You’d be hard-pressed to find a classic rock radio station that doesn’t still play this track on the regular, and why wouldn’t they? It has a great melody, guitar riffs, and a handclap section—what’s not to love?
“Dream On” by Aerosmith
Aerosmith releasing “Dream On” as their debut single would have been like Lynyrd Skynyrd releasing “Free Bird” as theirs. Fortunately for the Boston rock band, it worked in their favor, and they had a prolific catalog of hits following this impressively emotional and powerful debut. Leading with a sentimental piano ballad was at least a slightly risky move, but Steven Tyler’s howling vocals at the end kept it from feeling too soft.
“Woodstock” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Although Déjà Vu was technically the second release for David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, it was the first they released as a quartet with Neil Young. “Woodstock”, the lead single from the 1970 album, was a fantastic introduction to the four-piece. It was historical, a bit psychedelic, and it was also just grimy enough with the introduction of Young’s guitar. (Though, in my personal opinion, nothing can beat the original version by Joni Mitchell, who wrote the song.)
“Take It Easy” by The Eagles
Finally, rounding out this list of incredible rock debuts from the 1960s and 70s are The Eagles with “Take It Easy”, the lead single off their eponymous first release. Is it their absolute best song ever? I’d argue no. But it was so mellow and vibey and catchy that it’s hard not to keep listening to the earwormy way Glenn Frey sings, “Well, I’m a-running down the road trying to loosen my load, I’ve got seven women on my mind.”
Photo by Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images
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